Smartphone cameras v compact cameras: creativity

In the first part of this article we discussed the growing influence of smartphone cameras and how their flexibility makes them advantageous over compact cameras, and now we are going to offer some quick examples of what can be done with any photo taken on a smartphone. The example photo was taken on an iPhone 4 and then manipulated in a variety of ways.

Original image taken with Hipstamatic. A special filter was used to create the effect you see- as it happens, the light coming in through the window added life to the entire shot.

Noir is a professional app that can manipulate images for display without full colour. The controls are sensitive and allow complete control over any aspect of the image. You can brighten up specific areas of the photo, the main subject for example, or you can change the shot in its entirety. The example below took 30 seconds to create.

Snapseed is one of the very best smartphone photography apps available today with many filters included alongside extra touches that let you manipulate your photos in a variety of ways. The example below used the drama filter to bring out the background and add some false colour to the atmosphere. This filter works particularly well for outdoor landscape shots.

FingerFocus is a very simple app that lets you use your finger to focus in to a particular area of the photo at which point it will subtly highlight one part while gently dropping the background from direct view. It works particularly well for images where you want to hide a part of the background.

You can manipulate images in many other ways and Phoster is a good example of an app that lets you create posters using a photo taken on the iPhone. There are many options included and a selection of pre-made templates that let you create the kind of imagery that would have taken many hours to produce a few years ago.

ColorSplash can help you create possibly the most stunning effect of all with just your finger. Simply take a photo which will be turned to black and white and then use your finger to colour in specific areas. You can zoom right in and colour almost ever pixel if you like and the results are almost always surprising. This is one of those apps that lets you create in ways you never thought possible.

As you can see, it is easy to manipulate a photo in a variety of ways and to make any photo come to life with some simple effects. Every week, new apps are released that can further increase what you can do and when you consider the multiple ways in which you can share your images directly from the phone it all comes together to create a photography experience that is more flexible, more creative and more fun than ever before.

The above examples are merely the tip of a very large iceberg and your choices really are unlimited. There is no doubt that a smartphone camera will let you do so much more than a standalone camera and the fact that it is with you most of the time is yet another advantage. The fact that all of the above can be done on the phone with no other equipment needed also makes it as flexible as you could wish for. There really is no contest.